The Smell of the Workshop

The instant you enter a leather workshop, before you spy a single tool or material, something strikes you: the intoxicating scent of leather. Warm, earthy, lush, it is the note that the entire poem is struck upon.

Why Does Leather Smell So Unique?

Keep in mind: your product is made from vegetable tanned leather that has a natural & earthy scent due the the vegetable tannins. And compared to chemical-treated hides, this smell somehow feels earthy and even nostalgic. It evokes old books, antique satchels, family heirlooms, for so many of us.

Inside the workshop, the smell is mingled with that of beeswax, thread and the faint tang of polished tools. All together, the scents create an atmosphere that feels both creative and comforting, and like stepping into a world apart from the rest of life.

How does smell influence the creative process?

Smell is closely linked to memory and emotion. For students, the workshop scent often becomes an experience element. Months later, for many people, just smelling the leather takes them back to the day of their first class.

It’s not nostalgia alone the scent skims presence down to the bone. Smell grounds us in the present, activating our senses as we cut and stitch and finish. It’s a reminder that craft is not simply what we see and do, but also what we feel, hear and breathe in.

It’s a smell, more than a mere backdrop, that is part of the craft journey. It’s what keeps us rooted, dancing and leaves a stain as lasting as the leather itself.